Structural assembly



Aug. 15, 1939 P. A. VOIGT STRUCTURAL ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 12, 1938INVENTOR 0/ i 1 0 0. 6 Ma TTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATESSTRUCTURAL ASSEMBLY Paul A. Volgt, Bellerose, N. Y., assignor to Johns-Manville Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication January 12, 1938, Serial No. 184,549

2 Claims.

My present invention relates to an assembly of covering sheets includinga supporting structure and means for securing the sheets to thesupporting structure. More specifically, my invention relates to a newand improved means for fastening relatively large sheets of corrugatedmaterial such as metal, or rigid sheets as, for example, thoseconsisting essentially of asbestos fibres and Portland cement incompressed, densifled, and hardened condition, to roof or wall beams.

At the present time, corrugated sheets comprising both those of metaland of the rigid structural compositions referred to above are widelyemployed as wall and roof coverings. The

sheets are normally laid on the supporting structure in such a mannerthat their corrugations run vertically of the wall or upwardly of theroof, the sheets having their ends overlapping to a suflicient extent toprevent the driving or seepage of moisture to the interior of thebuilding. The supporting structure generally comprises suitable purlinsor beams running longitudinally of the wall or roof, certain of thebeams preferably lying beneath the overlapping end portions of thesheets, and clips or bolts have been provided to secure the sheets tothe purlins or beams.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved fastener orclip for securing corrugated covering sheets, the fastener being of suchconfiguration that it may be readily applied and, when in place, willexert an eflective binding action. A further object of the invention isto provide a structural assembly of corrugated covering sheets andsupporting beams including an improved fastening slip of theabovementioned type which will insure against slippage or raising of thesheets relatively to the supporting beam.

Briefly stated, my invention resides in the combination of corrugatedroofing sheets laid in overlapping relationship on supporting beams withclips for securing the sheets to the beams and the clip construction perse. Each clip includes elements adjacent one of its ends acting incooperation with the body of the clip to secure the same to thesupporting beam, and elements adjacent the opposite end of the clip andalso acting in cooperation with the body of the clip to so bind the sameto a roofing sheet.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects andadvantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to themore detailed description which is to follow and u to the acco drawingin which;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fastening clip constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of a roof structure employing thefastening clip of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 5 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating theapplication of the invention at the overlapping portions of roofingsheets 10 Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view of a wall structure inaccordance with the invention employing the fastener of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly Fig. 1, a fastening clipI!) is disclosed. The 15 clip Ill comprises a strip of a material suchas iron or steel of a suitable thickness to have the necessary strengthto hold the assembly in position. The thickness of the strip and theother dimensions of the same will, of course, be de- 20 pendent upon theload which each clip must carry. This, in turn, depends upon the sizeand weight of the covering sheets and the number of clips employed foreach sheet. The dimensions of the clip required for any particular roof25 or wall structure may be readily determined by one skilled in theart. As an example of a commercial form of the clip to be employed withthe relatively heavy asbestos cement sheets, the clip may have, say, athickness of inch, a width of 30 1 inch. and an overall length ofapproximately 5 inches. It will be understood that this example is givenfor the purposes of illustration only.

At points spaced from the ends of the clip, perforations II and I! areprovided to receive 35 securing bolts of a suitable diameter.Intermediate the perforations H and, i2, and adjacent perforation ii,the strip is bent along a line II to provide an intermediate portion l5extending at substantially a 45 angle to an end portion II. a The clipis also bent along a line H adjacent perforation H at an angle ofapproximately 45 to define an end portion ll, the end portions I and I1lying in spaced parallel planes.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, a roof assembly is 45 shown comprising acorrugated roofing sheet 2| which may be of metal, but preferably is ofan asbestos cement composition. The roofing sheet is supported on asuitable purlin 2|, having an extending flange 28. The roofing sheet isprovided with spaced apertures 23 and 25, the aperture 23 beingsubstantially in perpendicular alinement relative to the sheet with theedge of the flange 28 of purlin 2|, and the aperture 2! being spacedfrom the aperture 24 a distance equal to lg the horizontal spacing ofthe openings I I and I2 in the clip III of Fig. 1. A clip I0 is securedwith one end thereof resting against the under surface of the flange 28,and its other end resting against the under surface of the roofing sheetwith its apertures in line with the apertures 22 and 25 of the roofingsheet. The binding means comprising threaded bolts 22 and 24 providedwith nuts 28 and 21, respectively, extend through the aligned aperturesin the sheet and clip, the nuts 26 and 21 being threaded on the bolts toa sufficient extent to bind the ends of the clip firmly against thepurlin flange and the roofing sheet.

As will be readily observed from an inspection of Fig. 2. the bolt 22adjacent the edge of the purlin flange 28 securely binds together theflange and clip, and at the same time the adjacent relationship of thebolt and flange edge serves to prevent any appreciable downward slidingof the clip relatively to the purlin flange. The short bolt 24 securingthe other end of the clip to the sheet binds the same together andprevents relative sliding therebetween. Thus, the roofing sheet 20 isrigidly secured to the purlin against both the tendency of the sheets tobe raised by the action of winds or the like and to slip or slide byreason of their weight.

The bolts illustrated at 22 and 24 may be of any suitable type, butpreferably include heads composed of, or having a covering layer of leador other suitable, relatively soft, malleable material. As the boltheads are drawn against the roofing sheet by the tightening of the nuts25 and 21, the soft metal is pressed into the irregularities of theroofing sheet adjacent the apertures thereof to seal the aperturesagainst the entry of moisture. Alternatively, conventional bolts may beemployed and their heads sealed with putty, or the like, in the mannernow customarily employed in the art.

In Fig. 4 there is disclosed a construction similar to Fig. 2. In thisinstance, however, the fastening construction is illustrated as appliedat the overlap between adjacent roofing sheets. Here the fasteningstructure operates in a similar manner as in the construction shown inFigs. 2 and 3, but also serves an additional function in that itpositively secures the overlapping sheets 20 together.

Referring to Fig. 5, a structural assembly for a side wall is disclosed.The assembly comprises corrugated sheets 20, preferably composed ofasbestos cement mixtures, with their corrugations running vertically.The supporting means comprises a suitable horizontal base beam or anglemember 3|, additional angle members (not shown) being provided at spacedintervals of the vertical dimension of the wall. Clips iii of the typedisclosed in Fig. 1 are employed to secure the sheet to the flange 38 ofthe member 3 I, bolts 22 and 24 binding the clips to the flange and tothe sheet 20 in a similar manner as explained in connection with theroofing assembly of Figs. 2 and 3. It will be understood that althoughthe assembly is shown only adjacent to the lower end of the wall,similar securement is provided preferably at each horizontal supportingbeam throughout the height of the wall to bind the sheets to the walland overlapping sheets to each other.

It will be noted that, in contrast to conventional clips now incommercial usage for similar assemblies, the fastening clip as disclosedin Fig. 1 is reversible inasmuch as the apertures II and I2 are equallyspaced from their respective ends of the clip and the bends l3 and I4are similarly skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of theinvention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A structural assembly comprising a corrugated covering sheet, asupport therefor including a flange and a securing clip, said clipcomprising extended, planar similarly shaped and proportioned endportions lying in spaced substantially parallel planes and anintermediate portion at an angle to said end portions, the end portionsof the clip underlying the flange and sheet, respectively, and beingpressed thereagainst by means passing through the sheet and the endportions of the clip adjacent the intermediate portion of the clip.

2. A reversible fastening means for securing corrugated sheets to asupport comprising a clip member having planar, extended, similarlyshaped and proportioned end portions lying in spaced substantiallyparallel planes, and an intermediate portion lying in a plane at anangle to the planes of said end portions, and apertures in the endportions adjacent the intermediate portion.

PAUL A. VOIGT.

